


nightfall

by foxhat



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ), Childhood Friends, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lance is there for like 2 sentences, M/M, OR IS IT, Platonic Bed-sharing, Platonic Cuddling, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, demisexual shiro, post-Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-19 05:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9420854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxhat/pseuds/foxhat
Summary: Both Shiro and Keith have trouble falling asleep with everything that's going on, and they fall back into old habits.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [feelgood_mac](https://archiveofourown.org/users/feelgood_mac/gifts).



> here is my very (very very) belated birthday gift for ian, who turned 20 on the 12th of december... i know it's been more than a month and i'm really sorry it's taking so long lmao. because i didn't want to make him wait any longer, and to give myself another push to finally finish this, i decided to already post the first half of it. so here it is: some very, _very_ fluffy sheith, because let's be honest: the world can always use some more of that.
> 
> @ian i hope you enjoy this, and i promise the second half won't take as long. also please don't hate me for where this ends, it was my sister's idea
> 
> the title is from the song by london grammar, because i'm really bad at coming up w/ things myself & the song also fits the fic  
> Edit: omg it was supposed to be nightcall and i mistitled it lmao, but i kinda like the sound of nightfall as well so i'll keep it like this (but if you want to hear the song, look for nightcall haha)

It’s late at night, and the Castle is eerily silent as Shiro walks the hallways. He’s been trying to get rid of the restless energy that has been singing through his blood ever since he landed his lion back into her hangar. 

This entire week has been rough and filled with adrenaline, with the team trying to rid a small planet from the Galra. They’ve succeeded in the end, the planet and its species now living in freedom, but there have been too many close calls. This evening Allura promised them all the chance to sleep in, to get their well deserved rest, but it seems futile with the fear still crawling under Shiro’s skin. He can’t stop rewinding their fights, thinking about what went well, what could’ve gone better. He tries to tell himself that it’s what a leader is supposed to do, but he knows it’s more than just a sense of responsibility. His thoughts have bordered on obsession from the moment the rest of the team went to bed.

Now his legs are getting tired, however, and he’s thinking that maybe he could try again. If he just lies down and closes his eyes, maybe he’ll be able to fall asleep. It will be riddled with nightmares and bad dreams, no doubt, but it’s still better than just staying awake all night. He hopes.

It’s as he starts rounding his way back to his room that he hears the soft sound of scuffling feet around the corner. There’s a small hitch in his step as he tries to work out who it can be. His mind immediately jumps to the possibility of danger, an intruder in the Castle, but he knows that’s not very likely and does his best to fight down the fear.

When he turns the corner, it’s not some enemy Galra he finds. Instead it’s Keith.

He shouldn’t be so surprised. He knows Keith has always had trouble finding sleep, even before he got an entire space war to worry him awake.

Keith doesn’t look up when Shiro nears him, and now he notices that he is in fact standing right next to his bedroom door. Not just standing, he realises. Waiting.

Shiro can feel some of the tension finally leaving his muscles as he comes to a stop next to Keith. He has his shoulders slumping downwards, and his arms wrapped tight around himself.

"Couldn’t sleep?" Shiro asks, softly so as not to wake the others. Despite the size of the Castle, all of their rooms are in the same hallway, safe for those of Coran and Allura. Now Keith does look up, and Shiro can feel his chest constricting at the haunted look in his eyes, the dark circles under them.

"No," Keith answers, whispering as well. 

Without another word, Shiro opens his door and waits for Keith to enter the room before he follows and closes it again. Keith has his back turned to Shiro, but it’s not difficult to read him. His shoulders rise, his back bending forward a little, and Shiro knows what’s coming before he starts to speak.

"I’m sorry, I tried to- I wasn’t sure if this was still okay, but I-," Keith stutters, his voice rising in volume a little when he can’t find the right words. 

Shiro says nothing, just lays a careful hand on Keith’s shoulders and then nudges him towards the bed, letting him know it’s okay. 

Both of them are silent as they dress down to their shirts and underwear, and when Shiro gets into bed he holds up the blankets for Keith to join him. They fit together easily, Keith with his back to Shiro, Shiro with his arm curling around Keith’s waist. 

He can feel Keith taking in a deep breath, can feel his stomach rising slowly and then deflating again.

It’s not until Shiro has flicked the switch next to his bed and the lights turn off that Keith speaks.

"I’m scared," he whispers, not moving except for his ribs expanding with every inhale. ‘I don’t want to die,’ he adds, and Shiro carefully moves his arm, until he can card his fingers through his hair, pulling it away from his face. It’s a little awkward from where he’s lying behind Keith, but he can feel him relax a little, so it’s worth it. His hair is still as soft as he remembers it to be.

"I know," Shiro replies, and they’re lying so close to each other now that he can feel the warmth of his breath reflecting back against Keith’s neck. "But that’s why we’re a team, and you’re not fighting alone,’ he adds. ‘We all look out for each other."

It frustrates him that that’s about all he can say to try and settle Keith’s nerves. He can’t tell Keith that he’s being paranoid, that they’ll all be fine - he knows there’s a chance they won’t be. Everyone is aware that dying is a very real possibility now.

For now, though, he can feel Keith slowly relaxing against him. Shiro keeps combing Keith’s hair with his fingers, liking the way the long strands feel under his hand, the way they curl around his fingers.

Since he doesn’t want to lie to soothe Keith’s fear, he tries to distract him instead.

"Do you remember the first time we did this?" He asks, and knows he won’t have to explain what he means by _this_. Keith shifts a little on the mattress, and for a moment Shiro thinks he’s moving away, but when he stills again he’s lying close against Shiro’s body again.

"I do," Keith says, and despite the fact that Shiro can’t see his face, he knows that Keith is smiling now. "It was my bed, though," he adds, and Shiro hums in agreement.

 

~~*~~*~~*~~

 

Their friendship at the Garrison hadn’t been a secret, but still there were very few people aware of its existence. Perhaps it had to do with Keith’s tendency to keep to himself, because they mostly met in their dorms or empty public places. Some people might even wonder how they got to be friends at the Garrison in the first place, with Shiro being two years above Keith, and Keith’s apparent craving for isolation.

The truth is, they didn’t. They met long before the Garrison.

The first time had been when Shiro was still a twelve year old kid, just enrolling into middle school, and Keith had arrived to his hometown as the new foster kid of his neighbours. Seeing as there hadn’t been many other boys Shiro’s age nearby, their friendship had started out of necessity – two kids playing in the backyard because there wasn’t really anyone else to play with – , but it had turned into something much more in very little time. Even then, Shiro felt pulled in by the sad look in Keith’s eyes, and the shy smiles that would almost make that sadness disappear. In return, Keith listened to Shiro’s complains about everyone expecting him to be so _good_ , to be the perfect golden boy. It hadn’t taken very long at all for their closeness to develop.

The first time they slept in the same bed, it was because Shiro had gotten his first C after only ever getting straight A’s and he was too scared to tell his parents, to see the disappointment in their eyes. Looking back now, it was a little silly. His grade hadn’t even been that bad, but at the time it had felt like the world was ending. Shiro remembers very clearly how he had climbed out of his bedroom window to sneak to the neighbour’s garden, remembers the _ping ping_ the pebbles made when he threw them against Keith’s window. After he had let Shiro in, it had only felt natural to climb into Keith’s bed together. In the dark, with the warmth of Keith’s body so close, he had felt safe enough to talk about his fears.

It had only felt more natural to keep visiting the other whenever one of them was scared or sad. They had always climbed into bed together, even when it was still the middle of the day. There’s something about the feeling of being wrapped up in blankets and each other that can’t be replaced by anything else.

After two years of their friendship, Keith got replaced to a different foster home, and despite their promises it hadn’t taken long for them to lose contact.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is!! finally!! it only took me 2 weeks, which is longer than i was aiming for but it's still relatively short knowing how long i take to write stuff lmao  
> as you might have noticed already, i changed the number of chapters. the next part turned into so much i decided to cut it up into two chapters, though i did manage to finish everything, so if everything is going according to plan i will post the next and last chapter in a few hours
> 
> this wasn't proofread or bèta'd in anyway, because my sister is painting and i'm too impatient to wait for her haha. i might go back later and edit a few things, but we'll see (if u notice any wonky sentences or grammar tho, let me know).  
> anyway, enjoy!! you can also hmu on [ tumblr](https://www.twomillionfreckles.tumblr.com) if u want

Shiro had thought that Keith moving away would be the end of their friendship, but then he had turned up as one of the new cadets of the Garrison. It could’ve been awkward, the years of silence between them too large a bridge to cross, but instead it had been very easy to fall back into old routines. It had only taken two weeks before Shiro had turned up at Keith’s dorm at night. They settled into their old routine with surprising ease. It seemed that the thing to finally divide them was the Kerberos mission, and everything that came with it. Until now, that is.

 

~~*~~*~~*~~

 

The next morning Shiro wakes up to find his room empty, the sheets next to him already cold. He’s almost surprised when he realises he’s feeling anxious as he walks into the kitchen to get himself breakfast. He’s not sure where he and Keith are supposed to go from here – if they’re even supposed to go somewhere. Ever since they reunited after Kerberos something has felt a little off about them. It’s not that he ever feels uncomfortable around Keith, or that either of them likes the other less than before. It’s more like – like they’re not sure how to get past everything that has happened, Shiro supposes. He doesn’t really talk about his time with the Galra, prefers not to dwell on it even if his dreams will force him to, and Keith doesn’t mention anything about his year in the desert, even though Shiro knows being alone for so long must’ve been harder than he’s letting on. 

Shiro walks into the kitchen, and at the same time realises that he must have slept in – everyone else is already gathered around the table, Lance in the middle of some story that involves a lot of wild gestures. Then again, a lot of Lance’s stories are like that. It’s probably more to do with Lance as a person than the story in particular. 

“Morning, Shiro!” He pipes up, the first to notice him walking into the room. 

“Good morning, Lance,” he replies, and smiles as the rest of them utter their good-mornings as well. 

Nobody mentions anything about how normally, he’s always the first to enter the kitchen. He wonders if Keith has said anything to them, or if it’s just something he thinks is a big deal, but is actually barely noticed by anyone else.

He fills a plate with the green goo Coran seems to love so much, and joins the rest of the team at the table. It’s just after he has taken the first bite that he hears Keith’s question.

“Did you sleep well?” He asks, and though it might seem a pretty normal question to the rest of them, Shiro hears the edge of anxiety in his voice.

“I did,” he answers, not missing the soft smile Keith gives him in reply. Shiro swallows down another spoon of goo before he feels brave enough to return the same question.

“And you?” He asks.

Keith’s smile grows a little. “Yeah,” he answers, and Shiro can feel something settle in his chest.

 

~~*~~*~~*~~

 

The next few nights are surprisingly okay for Shiro. It’s possible that just knowing he can go to Keith when his nightmares get too bad helps to settle his nerves.

It’s just for a few nights though. After four nights he wakes up gasping for breath, and he has to grip the place where his flesh turns into prosthetic to convince himself that the pain he’s feeling isn’t real. It takes him a while to stop shaking, to focus on the soft sheets on his bed and the empty space around him. He’s at the Castle, in his room. _You are not in prison anymore_. His breathing still sounds too loud and heavy to his own ears when he rises from his bed. He only grabs a robe before he flees his room, trying to rationalize that the glowing eyes that seem to follow him through the dark hallway aren’t actually there.

When he stops in front of Keith’s door, there’s a moment of panic. What if he’s already asleep? What if he’s annoyed Shiro woke him up? What if he _doesn’t_ wake up? He’s not sure which of those sound the worst. 

The creeping darkness behind him wins in the end, and he knocks on the door. After just a few seconds it slides open, and he’s met with the sleepy but sympathetic face of Keith. He doesn’t even remember why he worried about his reaction as his best friend lets him into the room and ushers him to the bed without saying a word.

It’s a ritual, and not as awkward as it sounds – they never speak until both of them are lying under the sheets. 

As soon as Shiro crawls into Keith’s bed he can feel himself relax a little. It’s the warmth of another body and the familiar smell of Keith that helps ground him, makes his mind slowly accept that he’s not with the Galra any longer. That he’s safe.

Keith fidgets with the blanket for a moment, making sure the both of them are covered, before he settles down next to Shiro, noses almost touching.

“Nightmare?” He asks in a whisper, knowing Shiro won’t be able to break the silence himself.

Shiro nods slowly, closes his eyes for a moment to focus on the fabric moving against his skin and to have an excuse not to look into Keith’s worried eyes.

“Yeah,” he answers. “I get them– sometimes. It’s hard to let them go when I wake up,” he adds, not wanting to talk about the exact subject of his nightmares but also wanting to entrust Keith. 

Keith’s fingers find his arm under the blankets, and they slowly crawl up to his shoulder before sliding back down again. 

“It’s okay,” Keith mutters, “you know you can– it’s always okay for you to come here, you know that.”

It might not be much in the grand scheme of things, and Shiro knows that he needs more than just a good friend to cure his PTSD, but the promise makes it seem as if his burden is a little easier to carry.

“Thank you,” he says, and if his voice sounds a little choked, they both ignore it.

 

~~*~~*~~*~~

 

With every night they spend together, it gets a little easier to get out of bed and walk to Keith’s room when he can’t bear to be alone. He thinks it must be the same for Keith, because it seems like their nights together rise in frequency, though every morning when he wakes up, Keith is already gone. 

Sleeping together doesn’t completely stop his nightmares – if he’s being honest, he doesn’t know if he will ever be completely rid of them. Still, the warmth of another body so close to him whenever he wakes up makes it easier to deal with them. Keith’s presence is grounding, and during the few nights he sleeps alone, his bed will feel too cold and empty whenever he wakes up scared.

After a few weeks of this, though, Shiro starts to realise he’s in trouble. 

He has always cared for Keith, more than he has cared for any of his other friends. Something about the way how he cares for Keith has changed, though. He’s not sure when it started, only that it’s too late to stop it from happening now. 

It’s the little things like when Keith opens his bedroom door for him in the middle of the night, his hair curling in every direction, and suddenly all Shiro can think about is how nice it would be to card his fingers through Keith’s hair to straighten it out, if he could get away with touching his cheek or his jaw or his neck in the progress. 

It’s when Keith crawls into his bed, and his shirt rides up a little and Shiro can’t tear his eyes away as he watches Keith’s muscles move when he shifts around, and he can only wonder how it would feel to touch the skin there, if it would feel warm or if it would still be cold from Keith’s walk through the hallway instead.

It’s when he lies awake at night, Keith curled around him, and his breath keeps hitting Shiro’s neck and his entire skin breaks out in goose bumps.

It’s not just physical things like that, though. It’s also the moments where Keith surprises everyone with his deadpan humor, and Shiro can’t stop laughing even when the rest of them have already fallen silent again. It’s when he notices during their Team Bonding Sessions™ in the lounge that Keith is silently pulling away from the group, and all he wants to do is pull him back into the conversation, to make him feel at home.

Perhaps it takes him so long to realise because he rarely feels like this about anyone. He could play dumb and pretend he has no idea what’s happening to him, but the truth is, he knows very well what’s going on. 

He’s falling in love.

 

~~*~~*~~*~~

 

Shiro decides that it’s better to try and keep his distance. It feels different when they lie together in bed now that he’s realised the extent of his feelings for Keith. He doesn’t want to unknowingly take advantage of him, because in the end Keith is also still his best friend. 

So he tries not to flee to Keith’s room when he wakes up from a nightmare or lies awake with insomnia, instead reverting back to taking long walks through the hallways again. It doesn’t really help, but he can try and tell himself otherwise. 

In the end, it’s surprisingly easy as soon as he has set his mind to it. After all, he has been struggling with his PTSD a lot longer than he has been sleeping with Keith. 

The rest might notice he’s zoning out more often again, and it’s not really possible to hide the bags under his eyes, but he’ll live through it. He hasn’t survived this long without having a few coping mechanisms that don’t involve Keith, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as promised, here's the last part!! it took me a really long time to finish, considering it's a birthday gift for your birthday on the 12th of december, but i hope you enjoy it ian!
> 
> also big shoutout to my sister because she did a quick proofread for me even though it's almost 11pm now and she has to get up at 5 tomorrow.. yikes

Shiro is barely at the point of falling asleep, restless again despite the late hour, when there’s a rushed knocking on his door. He’s a little surprised, because it’s been a long time since Keith last came to his room, but he knows it can be no one else. 

 

When he opens the door it’s Keith standing in the doorway just like he expected, but he looks more shaken up than usual. 

“Are you okay?” Shiro asks, breaking their unspoken rule not to talk before they’re in bed. He can’t help it, though. Keith’s eyes are big and his hands are shaking, the dark circles under his eyes even more prominent in the hallway lights that wash out his skin. 

Without saying a word, Keith steps forward and crushes into Shiro’s chest with so much unexpected force Shiro almost loses his balance.

“I’m sorry,” Keith rasps, fists tight in the fabric of Shiro’s shirt. 

“It’s okay,” Shiro responds, even though he has no idea what Keith is apologising for. He just wants to calm him down. He carefully wraps his arms around Keith’s shoulders, and he can actually feel it as the tension leaves Keith’s body. He sags against Shiro, his fists uncurling until he’s just resting his hands against Shiro’s chest.They’re silent like this for a while, until eventually Keith seems to come back to himself a little and lowers his hands.

“Bed?” Shiro asks, and Keith nods.

When they get under the blankets, he expects Keith to stay like that for the rest of the night: quiet but alright. They rarely talk about what keeps them up, after all, and he doesn’t think either of them will bring up the subject of the nights they spent sleeping alone.

So Shiro is more than a little surprised when Keith suddenly starts talking. Shiro can’t see his face, as he’s curled up in the blankets, face hidden by his bangs, and his voice is a little muffled, but he can still make out the words.

“I was very alone when you went missing,” he says. “I dreamt that I was back there, in the desert. You were gone again.”

Keith tenses up once more, and Shiro places a warm hand between his shoulderblades until he relaxes. The space around them fills up with silence again. Shiro closes his eyes and presses his forehead against the top of Keith’s head. As the smell of his shampoo hits his nose, he realises how much he missed this. It can’t have been more than two weeks since they last shared a bed, but it feels like longer. 

“I was too,” Shiro whispers, the words leaving his lips before he can think about them. Keith stills against him, and Shiro blinks open his eyes. He wasn’t planning on talking about it, but now that the first words have left him he realises he wants to.

“There were others, but– ,” he takes a deep breath in, the air audibly shaking on its way back out, “you never knew who you were gonna see in the ring.”

It takes two seconds, three, before Keith’s hand appears at his waist, crawling forward until he’s holding Shiro against him. They both shift to make the embrace a little more comfortable, Keith’s feet bumping against Shiro’s shins before their legs intertwine. 

It’s intimate, would’ve been even before Shiro’s developed romantic feelings, but he can’t get himself to move away. 

“I’m glad you’re back,” Keith whispers, his words sounding a little unsure but meaningful nonetheless. They’ve been friends for a really long time now, and Shiro understand that what Keith is trying to say is that he’s not just glad he’s back, but that they’re this again as well. 

They lie like that for a while, but eventually Keith’s arm retreats and he slowly pulls back. Shiro can’t help but feel a spike of disappointment as the heat of Keith’s body leaves him.

Keith looks at him then, and Shiro immediately recognises his intense gaze, knowing he’s going to say something he finds difficult.

“I need to tell you something,” he says, his voice suddenly stern. There’s something about that tone combined with his serious face that sets Shiro’s heart racing. For a ridiculous moment he’s convinced that Keith somehow found out about his feelings, that he’s going to tell Shiro he can’t share a bed with him anymore, but then he realises how ridiculous that is. Keith came to him on his own tonight, and the circles under his eyes are enough to tell Shiro he’s been sleeping as little as Shiro has these last nights.

Somehow Keith has managed to create some space between them despite the size of the bed.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Keith says then, and it seems the determination has already left him again, his eyes flicking down to avoid Shiro’s.

Shiro’s mouth feels dry as his mind flicks through the last few weeks, slowly realising that in his effort to stop himself from going to Keith, Keith has been avoiding his room as well. How has he not noticed that before?

“Oh,” he says, as he’s trying to work through the flood of thoughts that hit him. Keith still isn’t looking at him. Despite the dark, Shiro can see that his cheeks have turned pink.

He isn’t sure how to translate his thoughts into words then, so instead he reaches a hesitant hand forwards, clumsily looking for Keith’s under the blanket. He bumps into his stomach first, and Keith’s eyes immediately flicker up to his face.

“Sorry,” Shiro whispers, finding Keith’s hand now and carefully threading their fingers together. When Keith doesn’t pull his hand back, he shuffles a little on the mattress in order to get closer again. Keith watches it all with wide eyes.

“I think– ,” Shiro whispers, hesitant but gaining courage with every second where Keith doesn’t pull away, “–I think we’re on the same page.”

His nose bumps against Keith’s, and he’s going a little cross-eyed when he tries to look at Keith’s face. He looks down instead, watching the way Keith’s lips part on an exhale, the warm breath hitting Shiro’s chin.

Shiro turns his head a little, until his lips brush against Keith’s skin, just shy of the corner of his mouth.

“Is this okay?” He asks, not moving until Keith responds. They’re still holding hands under the sheets, and he can feel the nervous twitch in Keith’s fingers.

“Yeah,” Keith replies, but it’s more of an exhale than a word, already lost by the time Shiro moves forward to press a soft kiss against the corner of Keith’s mouth.

Shiro’s heart is thudding against his ribcage, but as he moves his free hand towards Keith’s shoulders, he can feel the same fast rhythm through Keith’s chest. For a moment, he’s very aware of the sound of their loud breathing in the otherwise silent room, but then Keith moves and his lips press against Shiro’s in a full kiss.

He removes his hand from Shiro’s grip only to bring it to the side of Shiro’s face and glide his fingers along the shaved side of Shiro’s head. It’s obvious he’s a little nervous from the way his fingers shake and his lips move slow, as if he’s expecting Shiro to pull back at any moment, but then again so is Shiro. 

Shiro shifts onto his elbow, pressing Keith back into the pillow behind him without breaking the contact between their lips. It’s not as smooth as he would’ve liked, with his teeth clicking against Keith’s as he focuses on shifting his position so he can lean over him. Before he can apologise, Keith seems to grow a little more bold and presses up to deepen their kiss. His hands trail over Shiro’s shoulders, then down to his waist, still moving until they rest on his hips.

Keith’s lips are a little chapped, and sometimes either one of them gets too eager and their noses bump together or their teeth click. It’s not a perfect kiss, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a cliché, and it’s incredibly sappy, but all he cares about is the fact that he’s kissing Keith.

He can feel it when Keith slowly rubs his fingers over the skin of his hipbones, the movement soothing the last of his nerves. He lowers himself a little so that Keith can lie back down on the mattress, their chests brushing as Shiro moves a hand to the side of Keith’s jaw.

It’s when one of Keith’s fingers slip under the waistband of his briefs, though, that a new spike of nerves hits him. He breaks their kiss, and Keith opens his eyes in surprise.

“Sorry,” Shiro says, urging his anxiety back down, knowing he has no reason to be nervous, not when it’s Keith.

“Just- can we keep it like this for now?” He asks, and is relieved when Keith immediately moves his hand back up to Shiro’s shoulders.

“Yeah,” he says, his eyes flicking over Shiro’s face. “Of course,” he adds, though he can’t completely hide the slight disappointment and confusion from Shiro. Honestly, Shiro doesn’t have a clear reason for wanting to keep a slow pace, but he’s glad that he doesn’t have to try and explain it to Keith.

He presses a grateful kiss to Keith’s jaw, and then when he can feel Keith completely relax beneath him, he continues pressing soft kisses to the side of his face, his jawline, downwards along his neck. He makes sure to pause halfway as an excuse to press his nose in the crook of his neck, breathing Keith in. 

“I’m in love with you.”

When Keith doesn’t immediately respond, Shiro looks up in surprise. He can’t stop the soft chuckle from escaping him when he realises that Keith has fallen asleep.

He watches his face for a moment, looks at the dark circles under his eyes. He must’ve been even more tired than Shiro thought, so instead of waking him up he shifts on the mattress and lies down next to him. He carefully combs some of the stray hairs out of Keith’s face, before he closes his eyes and falls asleep next to him.

 

~~*~~*~~*~~

 

The next morning when Shiro wakes up, the mattress beside him isn’t empty. Instead, Keith is sitting up in his bed, back propped up against the headrest and a book in his hand. It doesn’t seem like he’s very interested in the story, because as soon as Shiro shifts he looks up from the pages to watch how Shiro slowly pushes himself up.

“Hey,” Keith says, and Shiro is still blinking the sleep out of his eyes, trying to wake up his mind. Keith closes the book and puts it down, and Shiro can’t help but remember the exact way those hands felt against his skin last night. It makes it a little hard to focus.

“I figured it’d help not waking up alone,” Keith says, and Shiro frowns a little at the hint of anxiety in his voice. “With– you know, with your nightmares and all,” he adds.

“Right,” Shiro says, brushing the tips of his fringe out of his eyes as he wonders about why Keith feels the need to make up an excuse for still being in his bed. Because that’s what it sounds like – an excuse.

It’s only when he stretches out his muscles and brushes a hand over Keith’s knee that he spots the hesitant look in Keith’s eyes and connects the dot. He must wonder about what last night means – Keith fell asleep before Shiro’s confession after all.

“You were very tired last night,” Shiro says, a slow smile spreading across his face. Keith looks away from him and nods jerkily. 

“I didn’t sleep very well this week,” he admits, and Shiro hums.

“I noticed,” Shiro says, propping himself up next to Keith. “Though I didn’t realise you had fallen asleep until after I said I was in love with you and you didn’t respond,” he adds, and can’t help his grin from appearing when Keith’s eyes immediately move back to his face.

“Oh,” he says, and he looks very surprised for someone Shiro kissed only hours ago.

“Keith,” Shiro says, his face growing more serious now. “You have always meant a lot to me.”

There’s a red flush spreading across Keith’s face, and he hesitantly seeks out Shiro’s hand to thread their fingers together.

“I’m in love with you too,” Keith says, his voice soft but genuine. Despite the fact that Shiro already knows since last night, he can feel something fluttering in his stomach at the words.

“Good,” he says, doing his best to play it cool. “Would’ve been a little embarrassing otherwise,” he adds, and Keith snorts. 

He leans forward and presses a quick kiss to Shiro’s cheek, taking him by surprise.

“You’re ridiculous,” Keith complains, and Shiro is glad to hear that any trace of his nerves is gone now.

“Yeah, but I’m yours,” Shiro teases, and when Keith immediately turns bright red, he can’t help but laugh.

“Completely ridiculous,” Keith mutters, as if he’s complaining, though the way he turns towards Shiro and presses a tender kiss against his lips says something else.


End file.
